Ever since the first Leaders’ Debate a week ago, the focus in the campaign has been on one party: The Liberal Democrats. This has been reflected in the polls which increasingly show the popular vote as being a two-horse race between them and the Tories (the make-up of the Commons is another matter and a product of our broken electoral system) with some polls showing the Lib Dems out in front.
With all that as a backdrop, it was inevitable that the two old parties were going to become concerned, even scared, of the challenge of the Lib Dems and start to throw mud at Nick Clegg.
I don’t need to post the reality behind the false headlines of the Torygraph this morning, the party are doing that perfectly well when asked in the media. What I will say is that the mud-slinging demonstrates how seriously the old parties are taking the Lib Dems in private (if not in public) and rightly so. The Lib Dems have been proven to have been right time and again – on Iraq, on financial reform, on reform of the expenses system in Parliament and of course on reform of the electoral system.
Two other things, one serious and one fun:
- The Independent carries an interview with Nick Clegg where he makes it clear that the current electoral system can lead to a “democratic outrage” and answers the allegations made in the Torygraph.
- Currently on Twitter, mocking the mud-slinging from the old parties, is blaming Nick Clegg for all sorts of woes from history: #nickcleggsfault
